"Living with a Hernia" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...

. It is a parody of "Living in America

Living in America (song)

"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...

" by James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, from the film Rocky IV

Rocky IV

Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise...

. The song mostly describes the terrible "aggravation" and "back pain" that a hernia causes. The narrator himself claims to be suffering from a hernia

Hernia

A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....

, and that he's "Got to have an operation". This is not Yankovic's first 'Rocky Theme' parody. He has also performed a parody of "Eye of the Tiger

Eye of the Tiger

"Eye of the Tiger" is a single by American rock band Survivor, from their third album Eye of the Tiger. It was released as a single on May 29, 1982, the same year as the album. It was written at the request of actor Sylvester Stallone, who was unable to get permission for Queen's "Another One Bites...

", the theme from Rocky III

Rocky III

Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...

, entitled "Theme from Rocky XIII (The Rye or the Kaiser)" in 1984.

Track listing

The following tracks are on the single:

1. "Living with a Hernia" – 3:16
2. "Don't Wear Those Shoes" – 3:35

The promo single only contains "Living with a Hernia".

Single cover

The single cover shows a man throwing a ball and getting a hernia in the process. The man throwing the ball, as well as the grid in the background are references to famous English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 photographer Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...

's famous sequencing photographs.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 is a parody of James Brown's performance in Rocky IV

Rocky IV

Rocky IV is a 1985 American film written by, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth and most financially successful entry in the Rocky franchise...

, and was filmed on the same stage as the original. Several parodies and pastiche

Pastiche

A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...

s were purposely included in the video.

• When Yankovic is at the doctor's office, he is sitting next to a woman with a vise on her head, a man in an all-body cast, and a man who has been decapitated.
• Many spoofs of James Brown's dancing appear in the video: At one point he performs the splits
  Split leap
  A split leap or split jump is a sequence of body movements in which a person assumes a split position after leaping or jumping from the floor, respectively, while still in the air. Split leaps and split jumps are both found in various genres of dance including acro dance, ballet and jazz dance, and...
  
   and screams in pain. He often bends over, due to back pain. In one scene Al is shuffling left, but then starts sliding unnaturally, he then suddenly yells "Wait a minute!". Also, in the classroom, he twists one foot 360 degrees.
• A montage, during the mid-section of the song, shows Yankovic doing ordinary things (playing basketball
  Basketball
  Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
  
  , going shopping, walking in the park, and bowling
  Bowling
  Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
  
  ), however, because his hernia is causing so much pain, he performs all of them extremely slowly. The entire montage is filmed in a fast motion style.
• Yankovic lists several common types of hernia
  Hernia
  A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
  
   (instead of U.S. cities). They include: incomplete, epigastric
  Epigastric hernia
  An epigastric hernia is a type of hernia which may develop in the epigastrium . Epigastric hernias usually appear in adults....
  
  , bladder, strangulated, lumbar hernia, Richter's hernia
  Richter's hernia
  A Richter's hernia occurs when the antemesenteric wall of the intestine protrudes through a defect in the abdominal wall. If such a herniation becomes necrotic and is subsequently reduced during hernia repair, perforation and peritonitis may result. A Richter's hernia can result in strangulation...
  
  , obstructed, inguinal
  Inguinal hernia
  An inguinal hernia is a protrusion of abdominal-cavity contents through the inguinal canal. They are very common , and their repair is one of the most frequently performed surgical operations....
  
  , and direct.
• When Yankovic lists the last five common types of hernia, the viewers are shown a board with the title "Top 10 Hernias of the Week", although he only gives nine types of hernia.
• A man drapes a cape over Al, parodying the James Brown routine, insinuating that it's time for him to end his performance due to his condition. However, Al refuses and keeps going back on stage by violently throwing the man off.
• At the end of the video, Yankovic exclaims "I feel bad!" (a pun on James Brown's famous line, "I feel good!") He then becomes rigid, and falls down.

See also

• List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
• List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic